Food, health and sustainability – Fazer becomes the first Finnish business partner of the EAT Initiative
Fazer Group joins the EAT Initiative, being the first business partner from Finland. EAT is a not-for profit long-term initiative linking food, health and sustainability across science, politics and business. The approach shared by Fazer and EAT is that what we eat affects both the environment and our well-being.
The EAT Initiative was established in 2013 as an international platform for interaction between stakeholders across science, politics, civil society and business. Fazer decided to join EAT as the idea of linking food, health and sustainability fits very well with Fazer’s existing approach. For Fazer, responsible offering consists of people’s everyday well-being, the sustainable use of the planet’s resources and the shared value a company creates in society.
EAT cooperates with various actors which all share the common understanding that it is essential to collectively address the issues of food, health and sustainability across the fields of academia, business, politics and civil society to ultimately be able to feed 9 billion healthy people within safe planetary boundaries.
“It is great to be part of this initiative as it brings together actors from the different sectors. Cooperation is indispensable to moving forward”, says Christoph Vitzthum, President & CEO of the Fazer Group.
“We provide a great amount of food every day – meals, bakery products and confectionery products – so we feel it is our responsibility to contribute to a shift towards more sustainable food production”, Vitzthum says.
Through EAT, Fazer will be able to support scientific research and participate in the dialogue. Fazer will seek ways to utilize the knowledge and insight gained through this partnership and to translate them into practice through its operations and offering.
The EAT Initiative brings together science, politics and business
EAT is initiated and owned by the Stordalen Foundation with Stockholm Resilience Centre as the main academic partner. EAT is partnering with the world’s leading universities and research institutions, including Harvard School of Public Health, UCL Institute for Global Health and many others. Corporate partners are carefully selected companies that have a clear sustainability profile and a strong focus on healthy and sustainable food products or production practices.
“The Western world must take lead in transforming the broken global food system to sustainably feed a growing population. We are proud to get Fazer on board of the EAT initiative, and to further collaborate on catalyzing the urgently needed shift towards healthier diets from sustainable food systems“, says Gunnhild A. Stordalen, Co-founder and chair of the Stordalen Foundation and Chair of EAT.
The main business partners include BAMA, Oatly AB, REMA 1000 Norge AS, Nestlé S.S., SEB and Tetra Pak. In addition to Fazer, the group of business partners currently includes Lantmännen, ICA Gruppen AB and Lerøy Seafood Group.
From knowledge to practice – Fazer Food Services aims to find ways to encourage more guests to choose vegetarian options
Health and sustainability meet on our plates. Increasing the share of vegetables is an example, being good for both the environment and health. Trend reports show that more consumers ask for vegetarian options since they value eating healthier and want to consider sustainability in their choices. Fazer Food Services has started the Green Buffet project to focus more on greens and vegetables, to make them more appealing and to develop the green offering in restaurants. Vegetarian menus will be designed to create new tasty dishes, always with seasonal greens.
Additional information:
Ulrika Romantschuk, SVP, Communications & Branding, Fazer Group, tel. +358 40 566 4246
Email addresses are in the format forename.surname(at)fazer.com
